When I was “gainfully employed” (I’m not sure why I had to add the gainfully but I’ve always heard that saying…..maybe it should’ve been “painfully employed” or “I need to work because I need the money employed”), I used to enjoy my commute to work. Why? I got to listen to NPR – National Public Radio. I loved my time with NPR.  I liked listening to Morning Edition on the way to work and hearing the familiar voices of Rene Montagne, Steve Inskeep, Carl Kassel and Frank Deford always made me feel at ease and kept me entertained.    I’d get excited when I’d catch some of The Diane Rehm Show when travelling between offices.  And, if I was lucky, I’d hear some of All Things Considered or Fresh Air and I especially loved the news reports by Lakshmi Singh.  I’d even find myself mimicking her sound bite,  “this is Lakshmi Singh”.  I even enjoyed hearing those darn NPR fund-raising drives and would get excited when they’d meet their goals. 

NPR was my buddy.  There was always some unique story or a news item that would keep me in the loop on current events.  NPR helped me wake up in the morning and helped me unwind after work.  It wasn’t until recently that I realized how much I miss my radio friend.  After being a stay-at-home Mom for over five years now, I have not had the pleasure of listening consistently to any of my NPR programs.  They have been replaced by Kidz Bop CD’s.  I’ve tried to tune in but it’s just not the same.  My level of enjoyment plummets pretty quickly since the background noise I hear is, “Mommy we don’t like this”, “Mommy can we listen to our music”, “Mommy why do they keep talking so much”.   So, my old faithful friend gets put on the back burner once again.

The other day, I was driving sans kids, turned on the radio and adjusted the dial and thankfully found NPR.  The familiar musical opening of The Diane Rehm show came on and I happily waited for Diane’s opening, “Thanks for joining us, I’m Diane Rehm”.  Her topic was the effects of the  BP oil spill on wildlife.  As always, she introduced her guests and the discussion was underway.  I wasn’t able to hear the entire program but I was able to hear enough to realize how much I’ve missed my NPR.

Luckily, after starting this blog post, I have found a new way to tune in.  I can just log onto NPR and pull up any of my favorite programs and listen to them over the internet.   The only drawback is finding the time to actually do this but at least I know the option is there.  NPR, I hope to be singing the Peaches & Cream song Reunited very soon…….” reunited and it feels so good”.  (yes, I am doing this blog post late at night so I tend to get a bit loopy).